


Turn That Frown Upside Down

by MultifandomDumpster



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Don't Read This, Everyone Is Gay, Fanfiction, Gay, Inspired by Steven Universe, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Old Writing, Post-Episode: s04e08 Future Boy Zoltron, Steven Universe References, This Is STUPID
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 04:22:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17399993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MultifandomDumpster/pseuds/MultifandomDumpster
Summary: Just an old story I wrote when the Steven Universe episode "Future Boy Zoltron" first came out. As expected, I don't ship this anymore, but I felt that the writing was well done, so why not post it?





	Turn That Frown Upside Down

_ "You having a bad day, Frowney?" _

" **Horrible.** "

_ "Well, why don't you go outside?! The sun always cheers me up!" _

" **I did, but it rained.** "

_ "Why don't you use an umbrella?" _

" **I did, but it blew away.** "

_ "Ooh! You must have been shocked!" _

" **Yeah, that's when the lightening hit me... Smiley, what do you do when you're feeling down?** "

_ "I just take my frown and turn it around!" _

 

"Hey, you're ruining the bit! I thought you were a professional." Mr. Smiley teased, smiling at his chuckling friend as he flipped him the right way around.

"I think I finally got the joke." Frowney says, hugging Smiley tightly before walking away towards the bus.

For the first time in a while, Mr. Smiley frowns at the sight of his friend leaving.

"W-wait!" Mr. Smiley said, "You don't have to go so soon, do you? I mean, I haven't seen you in years and I'd really like to make it up to you!"

"I would be too much of a bother if I stayed here. It's best if I go..." Frowney said as he turned back towards the bus.

"What?! No you wouldn't!" He protested, "Hey, how about you stay over at my house tonight? We can catch up to what we've missed since we last seen each other."

Frowney sighs, looking away depressively.

Smiley frowns, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Listen, I know life's been rough for you and I never really helped with all that, but I really want to set things right. Please, just... don't leave me so soon, buddy." He pleaded.

Mr. Frowney looked up at Smiley's face, which barely held a smile upon it. He turned back towards his friend and returned by his side.

"I... I suppose I can stay..." Mr. Frowney mumbled quietly, "After all, this is the only place that still wants me around..."

Mr. Smiley grabbed onto his friend, hugging him warmly. Frowney, for the second time today, smiled. It was a personal record for himself.

As the hug separated, the two friends waved goodbye to Steven, who had been surprisingly quiet the whole time.

The two men walked down Beach City's Boardwalk, gazing over at the beach that rested aside the boardwalk.

"Sure is a lovely sight, isn't it?" Harold asked, looking over at his friend.

"I suppose so..." Quentin mumbled depressively, looking over at the ocean and gasping at the sight. He hadn't realized how much the water glistened until his friend mentioned it.

"It is quite remarkable." He admitted, smiling faintly at his friend.

"See? I told ya so!" Harold chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Quentin's shoulder.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

As they continued walking on the Boardwalk, Harold looked over and noticed that he forgot to close up the Funland Arcade.

"Hey, wait a minute." He said, walking over towards one of the games that was still running. "I know you might not be in the mood, but it would be nice to play a good ol' game of SkeeBall like we used to do."

Quentin sighs, looking away depressively. "I... I don't know... I'll probably lose..." He miserably stated, "Besides, I spent all my quarters on that robot machine..."

Harold frowned, but soon smiled once again as he went through his pockets and found a handful of quarters.

"I've got you covered, friend." He said with a wink.

Harold tossed the quarter at Quentin, who caught it easily.  Quentin smiled a little more, walking over next to Harold where the machine was at.

They both entered the quarter into their machines at the same time, looking at each other with a hint of competition. Although Quentin was still in a gloomy mood, he did not want to disappoint Harold nor lose to him. He still held onto some faith.

They pressed the blinking start button and the balls on the side of the machine rolls down, with Harold grabbing one first and rolling it into the 100 points bin.

Quentin narrowed his eyes slightly, grabbing a ball and rolling it into the 50 points bin.

"Not bad, Lil' Baller." Harold teased as he rolled another ball, this time heading into the 40 points bin. "Didn't think you still had any game in ya!"

Quentin chuckled, rolling another ball and landing it inside of the 100 points bin.

"Woah!" Harold added, "Are you cheating or am I just getting rusty at this game?"

Quentin laughed, rolling the last balls into the 50 points bin. He looked up, viewing a score of 269. He looked over at Harold's score, which was only 250.

"Man! I was  _ this  _ close to beating you!" Harold said with a laugh. "Good game, buddy!"

He held out his hand for his friend to shake, smiling widely.

Quentin paused for a second, but warmly took his hand and shook it.

The depressive man felt his heart skip a beat for the first time in a while. For the few seconds that their hands touched, Mr. Frowney felt a warmer presence within him. He felt...  _ complete _ .

Mr. Smiley broke the handshake, leading his friend out of the arcade and locking it down for the night.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Harold's house, a decent-sized and average-looking home that rested a couple feet away from all of the festivities of Beach City.

"Well." Mr. Smiley spoke, "Here it is. Home sweet home, I suppose." He reached into his pockets and took out his keys, unlocking the door and opening it for his friend.

"After you, Frowney-Face" Mr. Smiley joked with a small chuckle.

Quentin walked into the house, taking note of the decor. The house seemed as average as the outside, but something about the place made it feel like home.

"So, how long are you planning to stay in Beach City?" Harold asked as he sat down on the couch. 

"I'm not quite sure, to be honest with you." He walked over next to the couch, feeling like it would be too awkward if he sat down.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want, buddy!" Harold said. He noticed that Quentin didn't bother to sit down, which made him frown slightly.

"Take a load off, Quentin! I'm sure you'd like to rest after traveling on a bus for who knows how long!"

The frowning man rubbed the back of his neck, sighing as he agreed to sit down.

"That's better!" Harold said with a smile.

Quentin awkwardly sat there, slightly sweating nervously.

Several minutes of silence went by, Harold looking outside at the starry night sky. The peaceful moment of silence allowed both men think until Harold spoke up.

"Did... did you really think it could work?" He asked.

Quentin looked over at him.

"Did I think what could work?"

"Us. Our friendship, our routine, our..." Harold trailed off, staring at the ground as his smile faded.

Quentin paused, sighing.

"I did."

Harold looked over.

"I did, until I realized that I was being thought of as a joke." Quentin quietly remarked, "I... wanted you to take  **_me_ **  seriously... I wanted you to take what I said seriously."

Harold frowned.

"I suppose it's too late now. I became a joke before I could even do anything... I'll always be that pitiful joke to you..."

Harold's vision blurred as his eyes swelled with tears. He started to cry, but didn't bother to hide his sadness anymore. He was done pretending to be happy in front of every person he met day after day in his average and dull life.

"Quentin, you've never been a joke to me." He managed to say through his sudden emotions.

Mr. Frowney looked over at Harold, widening his eyes as he saw the usually happy man become filled with so much despair.

"I-I'm so sorry for making you upset, Harold! I-I knew I'd ruin things if I stayed. Oh, I can never make you happy if I can't even make myself happy..." Quentin says as a tear rolls down his face, following several more to stream down his face.

"H-hey now, you didn't ruin anything." Harold said, his throat swelling as each tear continued to flow. "You always make me feel happier than I truly am, Quentin."

Quentin looked up at Harold, his face still stained with tears. "What do you mean by that?"

Harold gravely looked away for a mere moment before returning eye contact with his partner. "I know I might always smile, but truthfully, I haven't been as happy as I was years ago since you've left."

The depressive man listened quietly, wiping the tears from his face.

"I've always known you were sad, no matter where we were together. I really thought my comedy and jokes could help with all that, y'know? I just... really wanted you to be happy, and when I saw you weren't, I couldn't help but frown as well."

Quentin could feel his own pain fused with his friend's pain, causing him to frown even more than usual.

" _ Nothing could cheer you up... not even me. _ " He whispered, " _ I failed to make you happy and that became my worst failure yet. _ "

Harold sighed, putting his face into his hands as he cried, this time becoming more powerful to him as he realized the truth behind his attempts at helping his depressed comrade:

He believed that comedy was the way to heal an individual's soul, mending them with laughter. However, Quentin was the only individual who did not seem to heal with laughter.

"You... you wanted me to take your problems seriously, a-and I decided to joke around about them instead..." He said, feeling twice as miserable. "I joked around with your depression and turned it into a laughing stock..."

Harold shook with grief.

"I-I'm so sorry..."

Quentin tried to comfort his friend, but he felt himself breaking down.

"And all you wanted was for me to have some fun. Yet, I couldn't even do that for you..."

Quentin sluggishly sank into the couch, closing his eyes as he tried to cope with the current wave of emotional struggle.

"I deeply apologize, Harold..."

Quentin reopened his eyes, staring up at the blank ceiling as he viewed his sad reality.

" _ When did I become such a pathetic tragedy? _ "

He let out a deep sigh as the weight of his emotional struggle took a toll upon him.

Without any warning, Harold lifted his head from his hands and embraced his partner, hugging him passionately as he continued to cry.

Quentin gasped as he felt the warm embrace of his partner. A faint smiled appeared from his face as he hugged tightly, triggering another wave of tears. The two men held tightly to one another as they let out the last of their emotions.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

As time passed by, the two comedians talked throughout the night, sitting close together.

Harold interrupted suddenly, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"I...I promise I'll treat you better this time." Harold stated as he placed his hand on top of Quentin's, "That is, if you want to give this old wack-job another chance." He chuckled lightly, blushing softly.

Quentin blushed, staring at Harold in surprise.

He leaned down, softly kissing Harold on the lips as he smiled.

"Of course I do." Quentin said softly, "I never want to leave your side again..."

Harold blushed, the words shocking him slightly. He stood up, grabbing his partner in his arms and swinging him around like a bride.

Quentin laughed loudly, blushing at this sudden action. He was swung around three times and then was put down on the couch again, this time being placed on Harold's lap.

"What was that about?" Quentin asked with a chuckle.

“True happiness.” Harold said with ease, holding his partner close to him.

The two comedians embraced each other’s presence, relaxing as the quiet afternoon passed by.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Mr. Smiley and Mr. Frowney sat on the couch, resting against one another as they quietly watched the television show that was playing. Harold grabbed the remote, muting the show as he looked over at his partner.

"Do you know what my father always said?" Harold asked, looking at Quentin.

“What?” Quentin asked, confused at the sudden conversation starter.

"He always told me that love is when all of your happiness and all of your sadness - all your emotions - are dependent upon another person's emotions."

"Oh." Quentin simply replied. He thought for a moment, noting how Harold always remained happy no matter in what situation. Did his own emotions become ineffective to Harold, or was it the simple fact that Harold hid more than he realized?

Quentin’s train of thought was broken as his partner replied.

"But you know what that means?" Harold asked quietly.

Before Quentin could respond, Harold leaned down and planted a kiss on his partner's forehead, smiling wider than he usually does.

"That must mean that I love you!" He says with a blush on his face, chuckling as Quentin widens his eyes, his face filled with surprise.

Quentin smiled widely as he blushed, burying his face into Smiley's chest, hugging him with delight.

"I... I love you too, Harold." He said as he lifted his head up, tearing up as he looked up at Smiley.

"Turn that frown upside down, you little Debbie Downer." Harold teased, wiping away Quentin's tears.

As this moment appeared available, Harold leaned down and softly pecked Quentin's lips, blushing and smiling warmly as he rubbed his back.

Quentin blushed harder, burying his face back into Harold's chest as he smiled wide.

Harold felt his friend shake suddenly, which worried him.

"What's the matter, Quentin?"

Quentin smiled widely, blushing brightly as he looked up at Harold.

"I-I'm just so happy!" He said, chuckling through his tears.

Harold hugged him tightly, laughing with joy as he knew that he finally was able to make his partner genuinely smile.

He leaned in, lifting Quentin’s face close to his as he said the words that made his heart flutter with joy.

“After all these years, I was finally able to make you happy.”

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

_ In the end, he was his greatest accomplishment.  _


End file.
